1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improvement of a coin payout device which pays out coins which are stacked in a coin tube one after another.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, inside devices such as automatic vending machines a coin processing device is provided which determines whether inserted coins are genuine, stores the coins separately by denomination and pays out coins in response to requests for change.
This coin processing device comprises a coin sorting device which determines whether the inserted coins are genuine, differentiates the coins according to their denominations and removes the coins which are not genuine; a coin holding device which comprises plurality of coin tubes which respectively store coins according to their denominations selected by the coin sorting device in a stacked condition; and a coin payout device which pays out coins in response to the a request for change from each coin tube of the coin holding device.
FIG. 7 is a sectional diagram showing the principal part of a conventional coin payout device 1.
This conventional coin payout device 1 comprises a payout slide 5 in which there is formed a coin holding hole 4 which holds a single coin 3 that is positioned on the lowermost part of a plurality of stacked coins A held inside a coin tube 2 which is the main structural element of the coin storage device.
This payout slide 5 is constituted so that it is inserted with play into a coin payout slit 7 formed between the coin tube 2 and a coin base 6 which is fixed to the bottom of this coin tube 2 and moves in a reciprocating fashion in the direction of the indicating arrow B by means of the generally known drive means composed of a motor and link and the like not shown in the figures.
In a coin payout device 1 with a constitution of this type, as shown in FIG. 8, when the payout slide 5 moves in the direction of an arrow B by means of a drive device (not shown in the figure) and the inner circumferential face of the coin holding hole 4 is moved away from the outer circumference 6a of the coin base 6, the single coin 3 which is held inside the coin holding hole 4 drops down under its own weight and is paid out.
At this time, the bottom face of the plurality of coins A remaining in the coin tube 2 is supported by the coin support face 5a formed on the edge of the payout slide 5 in such a way that the attitude of the stack of the coins A is not changed inside the coin tube 2.
On the other hand, the width of the coin payout device 1 is specified as a prescribed value W as shown in FIG. 7 so that it can be installed on the same plane inside the coin processing device not shown in the figures.
For this reason, as shown in FIG. 9, the length S2 of the coin support face 5b formed on the part of the payout slide 5 facing, among the plurality of coin tubes, the coin tube 10 holding the stacked larger diameter coins C (the diameter of coin A is smaller than the diameter of coin C) has to be made short (S2 less than S1) in comparison with the length S1 of the coin support face 5a of the smaller diameter coins A (shown in FIG. 7) because the coin holding hole 11 holding the larger diameter coins C is formed in the payout slide 5.
Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 9, if the length S2 of the coin support face 5b facing the coin tube 10 holding the stacked larger diameter coins C (the diameter of coin A is smaller than the diameter coin diameter C) is shorter than the length S1 (S2 less than S1), and, as shown in FIG. 10, the payout slide 5 is extended in the direction of the arrow B, then as a result of this when the larger diameter coin 12 held inside the coin holding hole 11 is paid out, the lowermost one of the larger diameter coins C remaining inside the coin tube 10 is supported on the coin support face 5b with the shorter length S2.
Then the problem arises that, since only a small part of the larger diameter coin C is supported on the shorter coin support face 5b, the supporting state of coin C becomes unstable and the larger diameter coin C remaining inside the coin tube 10 can easily assume an inclined attitude. When the payout slide 5 returns to the initial position shown in FIG. 9 with the larger diameter coin C left in such an inclined attitude, the load applied to the payout slide 5 increases as a result of the collision between the respective payout slide 5 and the coin C in the inclined attitude and for this reason the payout slide 5 is easily subject to wear and damage. Furthermore, when there is a small number of coins C held inside the coin tube 10, the coin C rattles around inside the coin tube 10 due to the collision with the payout slide 5, and for this reason the coin C to be paid out is not held inside the coin holding hole 11 and the coin C cannot be paid out.
In order to overcome these problems, as shown in FIG. 11, it is possible to increase the length S3 (S3 greater than S2) of the coin support face 5b of the payout slide 5, but if this is done, as shown in FIG. 12, when the payout slide 5 returns to the initial position, the coin support face 5b projects to a large extent from the front face 10a of the coin tube 10 and for that reason the problem arises that the width WI of the coin payout device 1 at the coin support face 5b of the payout slide 5 becomes larger than the width W of the part of the coin tube 2 shown in FIG. 7, (W1 greater than W) and not only is there enlargement but also it becomes impossible to install the coin payout device 1 on the same plane inside the coin processing device.
On the other hand, in order to overcome this type of problem, Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application H2-99465 shows typically in FIG. 10 that a block with an L-shaped tip is arranged on the rear face of the coin tube, and in the initial position of the payout slide the tip of that block moves away from the bottom of that coin tube, and when the coin is paid out the tip of that block is made to project into the bottom of the coin tube so that the lowermost coin in the coin tube is supported thereby.
However, in the invention disclosed in this Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application H2-99465, the edge of the payout slide comprising a plate is made to collide directly with the tip of the block which also comprises a plate and the respective block is constituted so that it moves away from the bottom of the coin tube, and therefore if that collision is repeated many times over a lengthy period, the projecting edge of the payout slide and the edge of the block each easily become deformed and damaged and especially if the projecting tip of the block comprising a plate is damaged and becomes deformed, the edge of the payout slide and the tip of the block do not collide against one another and for this reason a state is brought about in which the block remains projecting into the bottom of the coin tube and the there is a risk that it will not be possible to pay out the coin from inside the coin tube.
In addition, in the invention disclosed in this Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application H2-99465, there is the problem that because the edge of the payout slide is constituted so that it projects directly into the edge of the block and the respective block is made to move away from the bottom of the coin tube, when the respective block moves away from the bottom of the coin tube, the degree to which the rear edge of the plate projects from the side face of the coin tube becomes greater, and for this reason the width W of the coin payout device becomes large.
With the foregoing in view it is an object of the present invention to provide a coin payout device which is small in size and is not easily damaged but can pay out coins in a stable fashion.
In order to overcome the abovementioned problem, this invention provides a coin payout device comprising a coin tube for storing stacked coins; a payout slide arranged on bottom of the coin tube so as to be capable of moving in a reciprocating fashion and formed with a coin holding hole, for holding, in a coin storage position, a lowermost coin of the coins stacked in the coin tube in the coin holding hole and for paying out the lowermost coin in the coin holding hole by moving the lowermost coin to a coin payout position; and a coin support means made of a resilient material and arranged in such a way that one end is pivotably supported on a side wall of the coin tube and another end is positioned in a lowermost part of the coin tube, the coin support means including an engagement portion formed so as to project from a part of the another end and a coin support component for supporting the lowermost coin, the coin support component being formed at another part of the another end so as to be bent into an L shape at an inner side from a tip end of the engagement portion and to project into an opening in the lowermost part of the coin tube, wherein a gap is provided between at least a part of the payout slide and the lowermost part of coin tube, the coin support component of the coin support means being able to move into the gap, whereby when the payout slide is in the coin storage position, the coin payout slide pushes out the engagement portion so that the coin support component is moved away from the bottom opening of the coin tube and when the payout slide is in the coin payout position, the coin support component is made to project into the bottom opening of the coin tube.